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Central Iowa Vapors saves $247,000 a year without cutting staff or stores

Monday, September 28, 2026 — 16:37:20 (UTC)

Central Iowa Vapors saves $247,000 a year without cutting staff or stores

While merchants nationwide wait on the Visa-Mastercard settlement, the 11-store Iowa retailer is already saving more than $22,000 per location with Lifelong

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — September 30, 2026 — Vape retailers across the country face a growing number of state product regulations. Card processing fees are also at a record high. Central Iowa Vapors has found a way to protect its business without cutting jobs or closing doors. The 11-location Iowa retailer says it now saves about $247,000 a year on payment processing after moving all of its stores to Lifelong's point-of-sale and payments platform.

The savings come as merchants nationwide push back on the proposed Visa-Mastercard swipe fee settlement. Supporters say the settlement will give merchants new ways to steer customers toward lower-cost payments. Critics say its fee relief is small and could be years away. Swipe fees reached a record $198.25 billion in 2025, according to the Nilson Report.

Central Iowa Vapors didn't wait. They enrolled in Lifelong's dual pricing program, which lets the company compliantly pass card processing costs on to customers who choose to pay by card. Every item shows both a cash price and a card price, and the customer decides. The result: the company no longer absorbs processing fees on card transactions, which drives most of its savings.

“With so much change in our industry, we focused on the costs we could control. Cutting nearly a quarter-million dollars in processing costs meant we didn't have to look at cutting the people and stores our customers count on." said Monica Reynolds, CEO and co-owner of Central Iowa Vapors.

Customers barely noticed

The company processed about 190,000 transactions across its stores in 2025. It says the switch to dual pricing has caused almost no customer friction.

"Most customers have not even noticed, honestly," said Ken Roberts, Store Manager at Central Iowa Vapors. "It isn't a huge price jump. The few who did notice didn't even care once we pointed out the loyalty rewards they're earning."

Roberts builds products, sets pricing and creates discounts for the chain. He said the platform has made that work significantly easier. "The options are far superior to what we were using," he said. "If something isn't there but is possible to create, all we have to do is ask. We call, we get someone almost instantly. We email and usually hear back in under an hour."

Overnight migration, one-store pilot, 11-store rollout

Central Iowa Vapors exported its product catalog and customer loyalty list from its previous system, and Lifelong loaded both overnight. The company tested the platform for several days at its West Des Moines store, then rolled it out to its other 10 locations:

Ames and Altoona Ankeny (two locations) Cedar Rapids Clive and Grimes Des Moines (three locations)

"The data migration was fantastic," Roberts said. "Any issues we had were met with patience and understanding, and Lifelong helped us work through them very quickly."

"Retailers are being squeezed from every direction right now, and they can't wait years for a settlement to lower their costs. Central Iowa Vapors shows that the right tools and a responsive team can put real money back into a business today, without asking customers or employees to pay the price." said Kermit Lowry, CEO of Lifelong.

About Central Iowa Vapors Central Iowa Vapors (CIV Plus) was founded in September 2012 to serve adult smokers looking for alternatives to combustible cigarettes. The company has since grown to 11 locations across Iowa. It offers vapes, disposables and e-liquids, along with nootropics and hemp-derived edibles, tinctures and topicals, sourced from reputable manufacturers for adult consumers. CIV Plus is committed to being an inclusive, engaged neighbor in the communities it serves. Learn more at civplus.com.

About Lifelong Lifelong is an Atlanta-based fintech company. It provides an all-in-one point-of-sale, merchant services and marketing platform to bars, restaurants, general retailers and high-risk specialty retailers across the United States. The company is known for its bar-tab functionality, its multi-location reporting tools and 20 hours of live customer support every day. Learn more at llmerchantservices.com and lifelongpos.com.

Media Contacts

Monica Reynolds Co-Owner, Central Iowa Vapors monica.r@civplus.com civplus.com

Kermit Lowry CEO, Lifelong marketing@llmerchantservices.com llmerchantservices.com | lifelongpos.com

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Source: Company press release.

Categories: Announcement